Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade was the protagonist of the first two major international disappointments of the American basketball team since the legendary Dream Team of Barcelona ’92. In 2004 and 2006 a team made up of Wade himself, LeBron James, Tim Duncan, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and other big names in the NBA were left without gold at the Athens Olympic Games and the World Cup in Japan.
“Where I grew up, if we saw a white boy you thought, ‘ah, I got this one.’ I didn’t know who he was, but that was the perception, that he couldn’t be better than you,” Wade explained during an appearance on Tony Parker’s show on the SKWEEK platform.
LeBron James (6) and Dwayne Wade, two pillars of the Heat and responsible for Miami’s historic campaign.Credit: AP
“Many African Americans spoke from that point of view, in a somewhat ignorant way. In basketball, that was the predominant thought. The international players were lazy,” he added about those first losses for Team USA.
“Then I played international basketball and, ‘oh no, actually, they’re skilled.’ International basketball is tougher. To be honest, American basketball is weaker,” Wade stated forcefully.
“The experience of playing international tournaments immediately changed my perception, everything I had always thought. The game was different, it was harder. “I thought we were going to beat everyone up.”
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2023-09-27 23:26:11
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